The present disclosure relates generally to a load-bearing unit support assembly having a variable stiffness member. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a support assembly of the load-bearing unit having a variable stiffness member positioned in between a damper and the load-bearing unit and a method of operating the support assembly.
A turbine engine generally includes a fan and a core arranged in flow communication with one another. In general, the core of the gas turbine engine includes, in serial flow order, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, air is provided from the fan to an inlet of the compressor section where one or more axial compressors compress the air progressively until it reaches the combustion section. A fuel is mixed with the compressed air and burned within the combustion section to provide combustion gases. The combustion gases are routed from the combustion section to the turbine section. The flow of combustion gasses through the turbine section drives the turbine section and is then routed through the exhaust section, e.g., to atmosphere.
Conventional turbine engines such as, gas turbine engines include rotor assemblies having shafts, couplings, sealing packs, and other elements required for optimal operation under given operating conditions. These rotor assemblies have a mass that generates a constant static force mainly due to gravity, and a dynamic force mainly due to imbalances in the rotor assembly during operation. Such turbine engines include load-bearing units, such as bearings to sustain and support these forces while permitting rotation of the rotor assembly. The turbine engines may further have a support assembly for the bearing.
Support assembly may additionally include dampers, such as squeeze film dampers to provide dampening of the loads on the bearings. However, under no-oil conditions, as well as during conditions in which the rotor assemblies are subjected to a large amount of dynamic forces, the squeeze film dampers may not provide a desired amount of variable dampening that can change with respect to the dynamic forces. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a support assembly having features for providing additional and variable dampening for bearings during operation of a turbine engine.